There has been conventionally known a liquid processing method for processing a semiconductor substrate (object to be processed) including a plurality of minute projecting ridges (projecting-shape parts) which are formed as a minute pattern on a front surface of a substrate body part (body part), the liquid processing method comprising a step in which the semiconductor substrate is subjected to a rinse liquid such as deionized water, and a step in which the semiconductor wafer is dried after the semiconductor substrate has been subjected to the rinse liquid. However, in a case where such a liquid processing method is used, when the rinse liquid having been supplied to the semiconductor substrate is dried, a surface tension of the rinse liquid may act between the projecting ridges formed on the substrate body part, so that the projecting ridges adjacent to each other may be pulled to each other and fall down.
In order to prevent the falling down of the projecting ridges, there is proposed, before the rinse liquid is supplied to the semiconductor substrate, to perform a hydrophobic step in which a hydrophobic liquid is supplied to the projecting ridges as the minute pattern (see, for example, JP7-273083A).
However, even the supply of the hydrophobic liquid can merely restrain a surface tension acting between the projecting ridges (projecting-shape parts) made of semiconductors. When processing an object to be processed, in which an inorganic film and a different film (a metal film, an organic film, or the like), which is different from the inorganic film in properties, are laminated to each other, a surface tension acting between the different films and a surface tension acting between the inorganic film and the different film cannot be restrained.